


middle ground

by ronanlynchs



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), but stevebucky, come on man, complete and total fluff, honestly just gross and im sorry, i'm not a writer, kind of rushed but it was 3am and i was tired, probably crack who knows, things that should've happened in civil war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 18:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6819985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronanlynchs/pseuds/ronanlynchs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>just steve and bucky being together after everything.</p><p>(vague but at the same time obvious) civil war spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	middle ground

**Author's Note:**

> this came from me seeing civil war for the second time tonight and coming home and making my bed while listening to cap's promise which was an obviously horrible idea. but i want that song played at my funeral. it's probably horrible and horribly written but i had to do something to get my feelings out. sorry in advance.

Bucky was still slightly hesistant around Steve, in some ways, but things were improving. He was more himself, or the self he is now and the self he was then, combined, every day. The time he spent back on the ice was hard for Steve but if it gives him more time with Bucky in the long run, he'll do or take anything. 

Finally living together, starting to feel like their lives were theirs again, together. After seventy years of pain. Steve remembering too much. Bucky remembering just enough and then having it taken away, again and again. Losing so much, but then getting each other back, felt like something more than a miracle to both of them. Steve asked Bucky to live with him, Bucky's response being to look up, then down with a small, soft smile on his face and said, "Where the hell else would I live?" Steve didn't look down, just stared at his Bucky, **his family** , when a smile that could light up the world came to his face. 

 

They were eating dinner, on the early side, because they were almost 100 years old after all, when Bucky brought it up.

"Did we? No. We did. We used to sleep in the same bed, right?"

Steve hesitated, "What exactly do you remember, Buck?"

"Your cold feet."

"My cold feet? How could you complain about that? You were like a furnace, man."

"I do remember complaining back then, but I also remember me warming you up and me not minding you being so close anymore," and then continued quietly, "not that I ever remember minding you being close to me." Steve was thinking about how much more his 1940's accent was coming back stronger the more relaxed he feels. Steve was also starting to burn up, mainly around the face area.

"Yeah, I didn't mind that either," Steve looked up to see Bucky staring at him intently, with a strange look on his face. "What?"

"Nothin',"

Steve narrowed his eyes, not believing him but also not wanting to push it, "Alright well, since we're on the subject, how've you been sleeping?"

"Honest? Okay, more than I ever got on the run, so there's that, but still not too great."

Steve started frowning, he just wants Bucky to be okay, get the real rest he deserves after all he's been through.  
"How about we give sleeping in the same room a try then? Not being alone, being with someone you trust? That might help." 

Bucky might have been surprised, but this was Steve. Steve, who fought his friends, who sacrificed the freedom of his other friends, who was willing to give up everything, even his life if it came down to that, all for Bucky. So he couldn't be that surprised when Steve asked him this, trusting him enough to ask him this. Living in the same apartment was one thing, Bucky had Steve still lock his door from the outside sometimes if he was feeling more Winter Soldier than he could trust himself with. Steve trusted him completely, Bucky just didn't have exactly the same amount for himself, he was making progress, but sleeping in the same room? He wanted to, but, "You're sure about this?"

"Buck. You know I am." 

He did know. He still had to ask.

"By same room, do you mean same bed?" 

Steve faltered, he was suddenly sixteen years old again, "I mean, yeah, yeah. If that's what you want." 

Bucky just stared at him, he wasn't sure if he could stop. "I wouldn't mind it, Stevie."

Steve let out a breath that he absolutely knew he was holding, "Okay. Okay. I, uh, I just washed the sheets. I'll go get 'em and make the bed."

"I could help." It came out as more of a question, though.

Steve didn't say anything, just nodded and gestured for Bucky to follow him. They got the sheets and were in Steve's room, pulling the sheet over when Bucky told Steve he was sleeping on the right side. Steve let out a bark of a laugh that turned into a much more drawn out one.

"I can't believe we're this is happening, again, 100 years later," he just can't seem to stop smiling these days, "we had arguments about this all the time."

"I remember." Bucky said. Steve stopped laughing.

"Buck. How much do you remember about," Steve was a little afraid to ask, "us?"

"Almost everything Steve," Bucky had this way about him now, he was more serious, but still so _him_ , it made Steve want to cry, "at least, I think I almost everything. Guess you'll have to quiz me some time." 

Steve was incredulous. The fact that he had Bucky back at all, but the fact that he was at a point where he could joke about this. Steve might have started crying. Bucky noticed this and walked over to him, put a hand on his face, thumb brushing his cheekbone, "Don't. I'm here."

"I know," Steve whispered, put his hand over Bucky's, "and it's unbelievable. _You're_ unbelievable.”

“Come on, you big sap. Before you start making me cry too, now. Someones gotta finish making this bed.”

Steve breathed out a laugh, “Alright, alright.” He took Bucky’s hand off his face but still held it in his own, brought their joint hands to his mouth and kissed Bucky’s fingers. Bucky let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Steve finally but unwillingly realeased Bucky’s hand. They each walked over to one side of the bed. 

When they were finished Bucky looked at Steve, at the bed, and back at Steve. “I think I have a solution.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“We both sleep in the middle.”

Steve was done questioning Bucky’s choices. He smiled, “And you don’t even need to worry about my feet anymore.”

“You kidding? I’ll always be worried about those things.”

“Hey!” 

Bucky laughed. Steve thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

 

When they were ready to actually get in the bed, Steve got in first, Bucky suddenly a little unsure. Steve gestured to him, eyes wide and so sincere.

Bucky decided to let himself have something, have this. Have Steve.

He layed down with his back facing Steve, curled into him, and an onslaught of memories of nights spent like this with him behind a smaller Steve flooded his mind. He sighed. He felt Steve relax completely and put his arm around his waist, grabbed his hand, “You okay?”

“Stevie, I can’t remember the last time after the 40’s when I was this okay.” He squeezed his hand, wanting to convey to Steve how much this meant to him, “Thank you for letting me be okay.”

Steve was going to explode, his heart didn’t know how to handle this, _he_ couldn’t remember the last time he was this okay. And what an understatement ‘okay’ was.

He smiled into Bucky’s neck, kissed behind his ear and whispered, “Thank you for letting yourself have this. For letting me have this.”

Bucky sighed again, the best kind of sigh. “Steve?”

“Yeah, Buck?”

“I love you.”

Steve closed his eyes, and was almost inaudible when he said “I love you, too. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to put into words just how much.” Bucky curled into him more, if that was possible, and they both finally, finally, got a full night of dreamless, peaceful sleep in over eighty years.


End file.
